Julie Hemmings
MORE and more people in North Yorkshire are struggling with debt and the sums they owe are getting larger, a charity has warned.
The Citizens' Advice Bureau (CAB) in Richmondshire says the £1m of debt it has dealt with in the past 18 months is just the "tip of the iceberg" and is urging people to get help before their finances get out of control.
Richmondshire CAB manager Angie House said some households had £20,000 of debt, accrued on loans and credit cards and not including mortgage payments.
"The £1m in debt Richmondshire CAB has dealt with since April 2004 is just the tip of the iceberg locally," she said. "I'm sure that figure would escalate if we had more hours and more workers to deal with inquiries. Debt and welfare benefits are the biggest issue for the CAB and often are linked.
"We do more than give advice – we will check to make sure a client is maximising their income and can negotiate on their behalf to stop interest and show creditors what they can afford to pay."
The Richmondshire bureau deals with different kinds of people, from old folk living in remote communities to past and present Army personnel.
One single event such as illness or redundancy can start a process which leads to a spiralling debt problem and Ms House said embarrassment often stopped people asking for help in the early stages.
Richmondshire CAB is seeing increasing numbers of older people with debt problems, sometimes related to endowment and pension shortfalls.
Ms House said elderly people in the Dales could be particularly proud and unwilling to ask for help, even for benefits to which they were entitled.
"The stigma is still very much alive," she said. "They are people who have never asked for anything in their lives.
"The bureau is aware of loan sharks operating in the district, exploiting the desperation that can accompany mounting debt. By the time people come to see us they may have been waiting for months," said Ms House.
"They can't sleep at night, it affects their relationship, their health, their performance at work – they could end up losing their job. Often clients have got themselves into debt through no fault of their own and it tends to snowball."
CAB services in Richmondshire, in common with other parts of the country, have been curtailed because of funding cuts, but the hours worked by the CAB's debt worker, who holds advice surgeries at Richmondshire Council offices throughout the district, have more than trebled.
An Army spokesman said debt was a personal matter but three years ago the Army opened a 13-bed hostel at The Galleries in Richmond for homeless former servicemen and women.
"Getting into debt can cause serious problems for soldiers and as a consequence the Army has welfare officers and confidential telephone numbers available for advice and guidance," said the spokesman.
Richmondshire Debt Taskgroup, which was set up earlier this year, has produced a card with telephone numbers of organisations that can offer advice, much of it free, on how to manage debt.
Richmondshire CAB can be contacted on 01748 823862.
julie.hemmings@ypn.co.uk